Black mark behind mattress? - mould?

h007

hi guys

i moved my bed out from the wall today as i want to paint my room. but i found a black furry substance on the wall in a line where my mattress sits against it.
is this mould do you think? if so why is it only where my mattress was? and how can i get rid of it?

abit more info;
the mattress is cream coloured so it isnt colour rubbing off
the mattress itself only has a tiny bit of this black stuff on and i think this rubbed onto it when it was moved
it is a memory foam and spring mattress


thanks in advance - any help would be much appreciated!

Tim_Deegan

h007 wrote: »

hi guys

i moved my bed out from the wall today as i want to paint my room. but i found a black furry substance on the wall in a line where my mattress sits against it.
is this mould do you think? if so why is it only where my mattress was? and how can i get rid of it?

abit more info;
the mattress is cream coloured so it isnt colour rubbing off
the mattress itself only has a tiny bit of this black stuff on and i think this rubbed onto it when it was moved
it is a memory foam and spring mattress


thanks in advance - any help would be much appreciated!

It sounds like mildew. This is often caused by moisture due to lack of ventilation.

You need to make sure that your mattress isn't pushed up against the wall, so that air can circulate around it.

There are various products for removing mildew, and that also help to prevent it coming back. However don't soak the mattress with it, but instead just dampen a cloth with it and wipe the mattress and wall.

andrew-b

I would think just a rub down with a warm solution of sugar soap should be sufficient - something that you should do before painting anyway. So it doesn't repeat make sure the bed is kept away from the wall slightly and open a window for a while in the room every day to ventilate and maybe occassionally pull the bed out a bit further from the wall (maybe everytime you change the bed linen).

We used to get this because we never had a headboard before so just pushed the bed up against the wall. Now we have a headboard and can maintain a gap it no longer appears to be a problem.

h007

thanks guys!!

so i just clean it off my wallpaper and then paint over it? great - not as bad as i thought it would be!!

Tim_Deegan

h007 wrote: »

thanks guys!!

so i just clean it off my wallpaper and then paint over it? great - not as bad as i thought it would be!!

You need to treat the bed and the wall first though.

andrew-b

the magic of sugar soap will shift it

Tim_Deegan

andrew-b wrote: »

the magic of sugar soap will shift it

Does sugar soap have the antibacterial properties to stop it returning?